Column: From employee to assistant manager at the Brentwood Country Club

This summer, I worked in Brentwood, Tennessee at Brentwood Country Club as a pool bartender. In Tennessee, you can be 18 to get your ABC license and work as a bartender. Before I could work at the country club I had to go to an ABC class, which was eight hours long.

At the end of the class, you have to take the test to fully acquire your license, and I scored 100 percent. An ABC is more than just learning how to serve and mix alcohol, you have to learn when to stop serving customers, how to check for fake IDs, and properly serve the correct quantity of alcohol in a drink.

Once I got my ABC license, I started working at BCC the next day. The first couple of days were stressful because we did not have our full staff yet, and the kitchen was not ready. So for the first couple of weeks, I had to work in the kitchen serving chicken tenders, sandwiches, burgers, hot dogs, etc.

My boss gave me this job since I had previously worked at Sonic Drive-In. Once the real kitchen was up and running, my job felt a lot less stressful, or so I thought. BCC had the main kitchen across the street prepare all of the food so we had to run back and fourth from the pool to the main club house all while watching little kids, serving alcoholic and non alcoholic beverages, and cleaning up the pool deck.

Some days, there were even dogs from the neighborhood that ran and jumped into the pool. I had to chase one for two miles before it calmed down and let me find its home. BCC had 10 total pool servers, but we only worked with three to four staff members a shift. We were constantly moving and never took a break.

BCC Pool with dog. Photo by Chloe Mayenknecht.

Most of the staff members either worked from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. or 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., which is a five-hour shift. The manger and assistant manager worked from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. or noon to closing, which was an eight-hour shift. For the first three weeks, I worked the five hour shift, but after that, I was changed to the eight-hour shift, which felt miserable at first.

My boss, Jared Rodriguez called me into his office one day and told me I was going to be the new assistant manager, and I was shocked. I had only been working there for not even a month. I ended up loving the position and felt very successful in what I had proven of myself as a server.

At Brentwood Country Club we had several birthday parties, holiday parties, and swim meets that took a lot of effort to organize. We had around six birthday parties total, all for kids under eight. For those parties, we set up buffets under the pavilion and decorated it to their preferred theme.

Two of us would stay with guests until it was over while the rest held down the rest of the pool deck. When it came to holiday parties such as the Fourth of July, Memorial Day, and the end of school, the whole deck had to decorate and serve. We had specialty cocktails and beers for the adults and novelty ice cream for the kids.

For swim meets, we only had two people working there, but it was always so hot and filled with screaming kids and parents. Even though it was packed and stressful, those days were my favorite. The more customers, the more money I made.

BCC club house. Photo by Chloe Mayenknecht.

When it came to bad weather and slow days, Jared sent home the other workers and left myself and Emily Johnson, the other assistant manager, in charge. If it was slow, we sat under the covered bar and cleaned or sometimes watched TV. One time, Jared made me bleach the entire deck and scrub it until it looked brand new. Another time I had to serve in the dining room for a different event because no one was at the pool that day.

When the weather was bad, we hid in the back room, and when it rained, we went out and fixed all the chairs and tables so they would not fly away. Rainy days were worse than hot days because although no one would be there, I would get soaked to save the deck.

When I applied for this summer job, I never thought I would love it as much as I did and end up being an assistant manager. I made several friendships with co-workers and even my boss that will definitely last a lifetime. I will be working there again this summer, and I can’t wait to see what is in store.